August 18, 2003
The Problem of Wealth
Proverbs 30: 8. Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9. lest I be full, and deny thee.In this materialistic society of ours, ‘riches’ are regarded as the end-all, be-all of our existence. Are you consumed by the desire for wealth? No? Well, here’s the question: If you had a lottery ticket and you knew someone in your area won, could you throw away the ticket without checking to see if you’d won?
Materialism is a problem that seeps into you from our external culture. Most people don’t understand that there are as many moral problems with riches as there are with poverty. I included the next part of verse eight and the start of nine, because they illuminate the problem of riches: “lest I be full, and deny thee.” It all goes back to Jesus’ statements on the difficulty of attaining heaven if you are rich; it is very easy to no longer ‘need’ Christ or God and to generally turn away from him.
Let us all have the ability to pray ‘give me neither poverty or riches.’
Jay
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Hi, guys and gals. Welcome to the parish.
I would suggest that in addition to the Sungenis book on your list, you read some of Mark Shea's books. I suggest "By What Authority" as a great starting point.
Oh, and I have posted your site to my blog, too.
Posted by: alicia the midwife at August 18, 2003 07:22 PMFor me, it's very difficult not to say, "Oh, but if I had $X, I'd be able to do so much good for my church, for vocations, to enable someone to attend school, whatever."
The prayer "give me neither poverty or riches" does not come easily.
Posted by: Amanda at August 18, 2003 08:06 PMI would agree with you, Amanda - the biggest temptation is sometimes the temptation for the power to do good.
It's very tough for me as well.
Jay
Posted by: Jay at August 18, 2003 09:14 PMwell jay,
merry christmas. God does not call us to be poor, but to choose the way we get money and not to lust it. to obtain it by work and not by ill gotten ways (anything illegal or not of God, illegal).look at Solomon for instance or even Noah. a man's heart is what determines what he will do with his money. sometimes people never achieve financial status because it will turn them away from God. you see the rich man and Bartimeus wanted the same thing, to go to heaven. all Bartimeus had was his faith, but the young man was just like a lot of people in society today, he hadn't broken any laws and kept all the commandments- but the job called for following the Lord. he could have given all he had to the poor but he probably couldn't stand to see his wealth go to someone else. when you die nothing materialistic leaves, it stays to be destroyed. you know i want a ferrari but it ain't going to heaven so why would i go get one if i didn't know the Lord? because.....that's the way of the world. the world teaches that to have anything you must be self-made and motivated, look at all those self-help books and get rich quick schemes. the only self-help book i recommend is the Bible and the only seminar i promote is going to church. what i mean is Jesus is all you need. seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all things, all things will be added unto you. the Lord ain't here, where is He? thank you............
